mr. chairman , i very much appreciate my chairman yielding me time . 
i really come today to express my very sincere and deep appreciation to both the gentleman from iowa ( mr. nussle ) xz4002980 and the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. spratt ) xz4003860 for the fabulous job they do of working together on behalf of all of us to try to make sense out of our budget process . 
to say the least , the world on both sides of the aisle and across the country would love to suggest that we provide for them every program at a maximum level that they might have on their wish list . 
and in turn , that same world wants us to make sense out of balancing our budget . 
these gentlemen are faced with that horrendous and impossible task , and to them we owe a great debt of gratitude . 
as the gentleman from iowa ( mr. nussle ) xz4002980 suggested , i have now the responsibility of chairing the committee on appropriations where , as they help us struggle with the budget , we spend money that has a propensity to violate that which is their guidelines for sensible budgeting . 
but in turn , over the years as i have observed this process there has been far too little communication , that is meaningful communication , between those on the staff level but also the professional level within the committee itself , between the appropriations process and the budgeteers . 
i must say that in the time i have had this job , the short time , the gentleman from iowa ( mr. nussle ) xz4002980 has gone out of his way to say time and time again , we want to work with you . 
i have committed myself to trying to have the committee on appropriations once again be a committee designed to preserve dollars , not just spend dollars ; and , indeed , if we are successful in that effort , we will be in partnership with our budgeteers , attempting to make sense out of the budget and eventually balance that budget . 
we are not in this alone . 
and the issues that flow around stabilizing our economy know nothing about partisan politics . 
and i must say that the committee on the budget has provided guidelines ; in the past we have not always followed those guidelines . 
it is my intention to work as partners in this business so we can all be successful . 
and i can say without any reservation , if we are successful , moving our bills this year very rapidly so they are ready for conference in the early spring , it will be in no small part a success of the work you all have done . 
i appreciate that very much and look forward to continuing this relationship . 
